The Legend of the White Wolf
by ParisWriter
Summary: A retelling of the story detailing Fenris' escape from Danarius, which has become something of a legend in its own right, as told by an Anitvan storyteller to Sylvanas Arainai - followed by a continuation as told by Fenris and Adeline Hawke, themselves. (Fenris/F!Hawke; Zevran/F!Mahariel)
1. Part I

Author's Note: I came up with the idea for a retelling of Fenris' story he told to Hawke in Act 2 (about how he escaped from Danarius and what happened with the Fog Warriors) a while ago, but never got around to actually writing it for a while...

The story behind the telling of this whole tale is that Sylvanas Arainai - formerly Mahariel - heard it being recited by a storyteller while she was traveling in Antiva with Zevran. She later repeated the tale to her twin daughters, Alleria and Vereesa, and it became such a favorite that they can both recite it from heart. One day, Hawke & Co. end up helping out Zevran with his Nuncio problem and Sylvanas invites the party to join their family for dinner so she can catch up with Merrill. The twins tell The Tale of the White Wolf after dinner, and both Fenris and Hawke are shocked when they realize there's a story about Fenris floating around that _wasn't_ concocted by Varric.

* * *

**The Legend of the White Wolf, Part I  
**

There was once a human lord who kept a pack of wolves as pets. But, where most people treat their pets with kindness and affection, the lord was mean and abusive toward his animals. The wolves were all afraid of him, and would cower whenever he approached their kennels. They did whatever the lord commanded them to do so as to keep their punishments to a minimum, but he still beat them and starved them no matter how well they performed the tasks he gave them.

Among the pack there was a lone white wolf, and he was the lord's favorite. The lord would always take his beloved white wolf with him wherever he went, showing him off proudly to the other lords of his land. Even so, the poor white wolf was not immune to the abuses the lord inflicted upon his animals. Sometimes, he even got it worse than the others because he was the strongest member of the pack and could take more punishment than the rest.

However, the white wolf wasn't content to sit around and just take the abuse like the others in his pack. He was constantly alert, always looking for the perfect opportunity to escape. Such an opportunity came when the lord was ambushed by bandits one day. The wolf sprang into action, protecting his master as he had been trained to do while the lord ran away to safety. Once the wolf had killed the last of the bandits, he realized that he was alone. His master had run off, and now he finally had the chance to escape he had been waiting for.

The white wolf ran and kept running, knowing that his master would have expected him to stay put like a good little pet and wait for him to return to collect him later. He did not stop running until he was too tired and hungry to go any farther without taking a rest. Luckily, he happened upon a small farm. He feared the people living there might hurt him, so he cautiously approached with his head low to the ground in a submissive manner he was all-too-accustomed to using.

To his surprise, the family living at the farmhouse were not afraid of him. They welcomed him into their home with open arms, fed him more than he had ever been given to eat at any one time in his life, and treated his wounds. They allowed the white wolf to stay with them, and he became a part of their family. For the first time in his life, he felt safe and loved.

But it was not to last. The lord and his scouts had been tracking the white wolf and discovered his new home one day. They surrounded the small farmhouse and demanded that the family turn over the white wolf to them. The family refused, saying that the white wolf was now a part of their family and wished to stay with them. The lord ordered the white wolf to kill the family, and without thinking he turned and ripped out the throat of the youngest child before moving on to each of the other family members in turn.

The lord was pleased. Even after so much time apart, his precious pet still knew his place and obeyed his every command. The white wolf, however, felt shamed by what he had done. His fur – the color of the purest snow – had been stained red by the blood of the very people who had taken him in and treated him with the care and respect he had longed for his entire life. He thought he had been freed of his master's hold on him the day he ran away, but now he knew the truth: there was no place for him. He could not call anywhere 'home' until the cruel lord lay dead at his feet.

Anger rose in the white wolf, and he defiantly turned on his master. The scouts rushed to protect the lord, and the white wolf managed to kill two of them before a third injured his leg. The white wolf turned and ran into the forest, and there he laid in wait until the rest of the scouts came after him. He picked them off one-by-one and then returned to put an end to his master... but his master had fled once more.

Since that day, the white wolf has been running. He has no family, no pack to call his own. His guilt over what happened – what he had done – to that innocent family has kept him from staying in any one place for too long. He knows that, someday, his master will find him once more. When that day comes, he will kill the man who has haunted his nightmares for so long. Only then will he be able to find peace.


	2. Part II

Author's Note: Part Two of the Legend of the White Wolf is told by Fenris and Hawke to Zevran & Sylvanas' daughters, and details the events from their first meeting to the death of Danarius.

* * *

**The Legend of the White Wolf, Part II**

"Such a sad, yet beautiful story," Merrill commented once the twins had finished telling their tale. "It reminds me of the one Hahren Paivel used to tell us all about the fall of Arlathan."

Fenris and Adeline shared a look with one another, both of them wondering how Zevran's family had heard about his escape from Danarius and what happened with the Fog Warriors who had taken him in. Perhaps one of the Fog Warriors had survived and gone on to tell the tale. If that was case, they were lucky that the survivor hadn't come after Fenris seeking revenge for him slaughtering his entire tribe. Then again, anyone who had seen the devastation he had single-handedly caused that day likely would have thought twice about ever taking him on.

"You know," Adeline said after a moment, turning her gaze to the two little blonde elven girls seated across from them, "I think I've heard that story before."

"Really?" asked Alleria, the older of the two girls, her green eyes sparkling.

"Yes," Fenris added, a slight smile on his lips as he continued to look at his beloved Hawke for a moment more before looking to the children, as well. "And, if I recall, there's actually more to it than that."

"Tell us!" requested the younger twin, Vereesa, she and her sister both scooting closer to the couple.

"Girls, what has your mother told you?" Zevran scolded his daughters, pausing in whispering naughty suggestions into his wife's ear to level a stern gaze at them both.

"Sorry," Vereesa apologized, pouting and batting her long eyelashes at her father. Zevran chuckled at the look on her face. Beside him, Sylvanas let out a sigh.

"I see you've taught them _that_, too," she muttered unhappily. Zevran sidled up next to her and nuzzled the curls of dark red hair at the side of her neck, his arm tightening around her waist.

"It is essential for an assassin to have the proper skills to seduce their target."

"They're _five_, Zevran," she admonished him, twisting out of his grasp so she could glare at him with her own green eyes – identical to those of their daughters.

"I apologize, cara," Zevran purred, his arm sliding into its previous position around her waist. "What must I do to make it up to you?"

"You_ do_ realize that there are children in the room?" Anders asked, raising an eyebrow as he observed the Antivan elf nibbling on his wife's ear, completely oblivious to his current company.

"Will you please tell us the rest of the story?" the sisters asked, their voices blending together into one.

"Would you care to start, Fenris, or should I?" Adeline asked him, and he looked at her quietly for a moment before nodding.

"You begin."

"All right, then," Adeline said, clearing her throat a bit as she returned her attention to the eager little elven girls who were now seated almost directly next to her.

"The wolf ran and ran, never stopping anywhere for long for fear that his master would send more scouts and soldiers to hunt him. He took shelter where he could find it, stole food when he could, and distanced himself from all other wolves and people."

"For three years this continued," Fenris piped up, his arm casually snaking around her waist. "Then, one day, he decided he could no longer continue running. As luck would have it, he happened upon a beautiful sorceress who offered to help him, but the white wolf was wary of her. She seemed kind and noble, but his master had once been a kind and noble man, as well."

"The sorceress refused to give up on the wolf, however," Adeline continued. "She would visit him in the forest and bring him food and talk to him. She wanted to be his friend, and the more time she spent with the wolf the more she found herself caring about him."

"The wolf also found himself caring for the sorceress, and one night he went to her home and she allowed him to sleep on her bed with her," Fenris said, his voice taking on slightly husky quality as his fingers gently ran up and down his lover's side. "It was a wonderful night, and the white wolf finally felt like he had found a home – but it also frightened him. The last time he had felt so accepted, he had caused the needless deaths of those who had shown him such compassion. So he ran."

"The sorceress was greatly saddened that the wolf would not stay with her," Adeline continued, prompting Fenris to lean closer to her and nuzzle her hair, his hot breath just barely blowing across her ear and causing a shiver to run down her spine. "Even so, she did not give up hope that he would one day change his mind and make his home with her. She continued to seek him out and show him kindness whenever she could, but the wolf was stubborn and adamantly refused to allow her to get too close to him. Occasionally, he would wander close to her home, but when she invited him to stay he would run back into the forest and hide."

She turned her head to look at Fenris, and their eyes met. She raised a single, dark red eyebrow over one of her amber eyes, wordlessly asking him just how much of their personal story they wished to divulge with this tale. They knew that Merrill would remain blissfully oblivious of what they were truly speaking about, but Anders would certainly know the truth behind the story – if he hadn't already figured it out – once the next events of their lives were revealed. Fenris closed his deep green eyes, silently thinking for a moment, then he began to speak.

"One day, the wolf encountered the sorceress in the forest," he picked up where she had left off, opening his eyes to gaze into hers. This was the part of the story he hated most of all, as much for the abomination's deception as for his own stupid actions. "She was not alone, however. She was accompanied by the healer of the local village."

Adeline heard Anders shifting uncomfortably where he was sitting on the other side of the small wooden table, and she cast a glance in his direction. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, warning him to keep his mouth shut, and he nodded in return and continued to quietly listen, even though he would have rather not heard any more of the story.

"The wolf approached them, and the healer shooed him away, telling him that the sorceress no longer wanted him around."

"The sorceress had not heard the words of the healer, or else she would have corrected him. She still wanted the wolf around, her heart yet broken from how he had denied himself his rightful place at her side," Adeline added, her gaze briefly flickering to Anders.

"The wolf, however, chose to believe the healer's lie as he felt it would be for the best. Sooner or later, his master would come looking for him once more, and he did not want to risk the life of his beloved mage."

Adeline's eyes widened briefly at his slip, and she cast a glance over her shoulder at the twins. They were both still listening rapturously, and had apparently not noticed his mistake. One look at Zevran, however, showed that he _had_ noticed. He was smiling at the two of them, and he winked at her when she caught his eye.

"Sad and alone, the white wolf wandered to a nearby port town and took up with a pirate for a while, but his mind never strayed far from the sorceress," Fenris continued, his hand tightly grasping her waist. "He would stay awake all night, howling at the moon in his sorrow at having lost the person he had come to care for so much."

"Fenris..." Adeline quietly said his name, reaching up and tracing one of the lyrium markings on his chin with her fingertip. She hadn't expected him to talk about the way he had felt while they were apart. The emotion in his voice had been so raw it seemed as though they were still living in that period of time before they reconciled.

"The sorceress also found herself unable to sleep," she added. "Most nights she would lie awake, in tears, mourning the loss of her dearest and most beloved friend."

They continued to gaze into one another's eyes, each of them reliving the pain they had felt during the three years they had been apart. Adeline wanted to run her fingers through his soft, white hair and pull his lips to hers so she could kiss away the regrets she knew he still harbored for having walked away from her that first night. She very nearly did just that, but the voice of Zevran's eldest daughter pulled her back out of the moment and reminded her of where they were.

"What happened then?" Alleria wondered.

"The white wolf's master came for him, just as he feared he would one day," Adeline picked up where they had left off.

"This time, he set a trap for the white wolf," Fenris added, his voice taking on a bitter edge. "He used one of the other wolves from his pack, one the white wolf had a personal attachment to – his sister. The white wolf saw his sister running free in the woods one day, and foolishly believed that she had escaped. Little did he know that she was now fully compliant with their master's wishes, and was leading her brother right to the cruel son of a-"

"Fenris!" Adeline cut him off, nodding toward the two little girls who were listening to their story. Things were getting too emotional for him, and so she decided to continue for him.

"Luckily, the sorceress had been keeping tabs on the white wolf, and she heard from a merchant friend that the wolf's master had been spotted in the forest. Fearing for his life, she ran as quickly as she could to where the evil lord had made camp with his men. Upon her arrival, she was relieved to see the white wolf, unharmed, and when he attacked his master she attacked right alongside him."

It wasn't _exactly_ the way things had happened, but it was close enough.

"The white wolf was finally able to kill his former master," Fenris concluded, "thanks to the help of the sorceress-"

"And the healer," Anders muttered under his breath, causing the elf to glare at him as he continued speaking.

"-and his sister ran away, ashamed that she had so willingly turned against her own blood. Free of the threat the evil lord posed, the white wolf then went to live with the sorceress, accepting the place on her bed which she had offered him previously. To this day, he remains at her side – forever devoted to her and protecting her with his very life."

"That is such a nice story!" Merrill stated, clapping her hands. "I wonder if any of it is true?"

"All stories have a root in truth," Zevran remarked, winking at Fenris and Adeline once more. "Some of them, more than you might think."

"So what happened then?" Vereesa asked. "Did they go on adventures together?"

"What happened to the healer and the pirate?" Alleria wondered.

"Did they get married?"

"Don't be silly! People don't marry _animals_!"

"I've been saying the same thing for years," Anders remarked, and Adeline felt Fenris' entire body tense beside her. She laid a hand on his arm and whispered to him to calm down, then just barely nipped at his sensitive ear with her teeth. He let out a small groan of frustration, his fingers digging into her waist even harder, but he turned his attention away from Anders without saying a word.

"There are no more stories to tell of the white wolf," he instead addressed the children. "Not yet, anyway. Perhaps there will be, someday."

"Will you come back to tell us?" Alleria asked.

"_Please_?" Vereesa begged, batting her eyelashes at Fenris and causing her mother to swear under her breath at her father.

"Perhaps we shall, one day," Fenris agreed, smiling at the two girls. Adeline watched the interaction and felt something tugging deep within her as she suddenly realized that Fenris would be an excellent father.

Now _that_ would be an interesting story to try to tell...


End file.
